JUNE 27, 2016
Manifestations of Hell by Fr. François Xavier Schouppe, S.J.- 2
Manifestations of Hell
Second in a Series on Hell
by
Fr. François Xavier Schouppe, S.J.
The dogma of hell stands on the infallible word of God; but
in his mercy, God, to aid our faith, permits at intervals
the truth of hell to be manifested in a sensible manner.
These manifestations are more frequent than is thought;
and, when supported by sufficient proofs, they are
unexceptionable facts which must be admitted like all
the other facts of history.
in his mercy, God, to aid our faith, permits at intervals
the truth of hell to be manifested in a sensible manner.
These manifestations are more frequent than is thought;
and, when supported by sufficient proofs, they are
unexceptionable facts which must be admitted like all
the other facts of history.
St. Francis Jerome |
Here is one of these facts.
It was juridically
It was juridically
proved in the process
of the canonization
of the canonization
of St. Francis of Jerome,
and under oath
and under oath
attested by a large number
of eye-witnesses.
of eye-witnesses.
In the year AD 1707, St.
Francis of Jerome
Francis of Jerome
was preaching, as was his wont, in the
neighborhood of the city of Naples.
He was speaking of hell and the awful
chastisements that await obstinate sinners.
A brazen courtesan who lived there,
troubled by a discourse which aroused her
remorse, sought to hinder it by jests and
shouts, accompanied by noisy instruments.
As she was standing close to the window,
the Saint cried out:
Beware, my daughter, of resisting grace; before
eight days God will
punish you.
The unhappy creature grew only more
boisterous. Eight days elapsed, and
the holy preacher happened to be again
before the same house. This time she was
silent, the windows were shut. The hearers,
with dismay on their faces, told the
Saint that Catherine - that was the name
of the bad woman - had a few hours
before died suddenly. "Died!" he repeated,
"well, let her tell us now what she has
gained by laughing at hell. Let us ask
her." He uttered these words in an
inspired tone, and every one expected
a miracle.
Followed by an immense crowd, he
went up to the death chamber, and
there, after having prayed
for an instant, he uncovers the face
of the corpse, and says in a loud voice:
"Catherine, tell us where art thou now."
boisterous. Eight days elapsed, and
the holy preacher happened to be again
before the same house. This time she was
silent, the windows were shut. The hearers,
with dismay on their faces, told the
Saint that Catherine - that was the name
of the bad woman - had a few hours
before died suddenly. "Died!" he repeated,
"well, let her tell us now what she has
gained by laughing at hell. Let us ask
her." He uttered these words in an
inspired tone, and every one expected
a miracle.
Followed by an immense crowd, he
went up to the death chamber, and
there, after having prayed
for an instant, he uncovers the face
of the corpse, and says in a loud voice:
"Catherine, tell us where art thou now."
At this summons, the dead woman lifts her head,
while opening her wild eyes, her face borrows
color, her features assume an expression of horrible
despair, and in a mournful voice, she pronounces
these words:
while opening her wild eyes, her face borrows
color, her features assume an expression of horrible
despair, and in a mournful voice, she pronounces
these words:
In hell; I am in hell.
And immediately, she falls back again into the
condition of a corpse.
condition of a corpse.
"I was present at that event," says one of the
witnesses who deposed before the Apostolic
tribunal, "but I never could convey the
impression it produced on me and the bystanders,
nor that which I still feel every time I pass that
house and look at that window. At the sight of
that ill-fated abode, I still hear the pitiful cry
resounding: 'In hell; I am in hell'."
witnesses who deposed before the Apostolic
tribunal, "but I never could convey the
impression it produced on me and the bystanders,
nor that which I still feel every time I pass that
house and look at that window. At the sight of
that ill-fated abode, I still hear the pitiful cry
resounding: 'In hell; I am in hell'."
Ratbod, King of the Frisons, who is mentioned
in ecclesiastical history in the eighth century,
had said to St. Wolfrand that he was not afraid
of hell; that he wished to be there with the
kings, his ancestors, and most illustrious
personages. "Moreover," he added, "later
on, I shall be always able to receive baptism."
"Lord," answered the Saint, "do not neglect
the grace that is offered to thee. The God
who offers the sinner pardon, does not
promise him tomorrow." The King did not
heed this advice, and put off his conversion.
A year after, learning the arrival of St.
Willibrord, he dispatched an officer to him,
to invite him to come to the court and
confer baptism on him. The Saint answered
that it was too late. "Your master," he said,
"died after your departure. He braved eternal
fire; he has fallen into it. I have seen him
this night, loaded with fiery chains, in the
bottom of the abyss."
in ecclesiastical history in the eighth century,
had said to St. Wolfrand that he was not afraid
of hell; that he wished to be there with the
kings, his ancestors, and most illustrious
personages. "Moreover," he added, "later
on, I shall be always able to receive baptism."
"Lord," answered the Saint, "do not neglect
the grace that is offered to thee. The God
who offers the sinner pardon, does not
promise him tomorrow." The King did not
heed this advice, and put off his conversion.
A year after, learning the arrival of St.
Willibrord, he dispatched an officer to him,
to invite him to come to the court and
confer baptism on him. The Saint answered
that it was too late. "Your master," he said,
"died after your departure. He braved eternal
fire; he has fallen into it. I have seen him
this night, loaded with fiery chains, in the
bottom of the abyss."
St. Francis Xavier Resurrecting the Son of an Inhabitant of Cangoxima Nicholas Poussin (1594-1665) |
Here is another witness
from beyond the grave.
History avers that when
St. Francis Xavier was
at Cangoxima, in Japan,
he performed a great
number of miracles, of
which the most celebrated
was the resurrection of
a maiden of noble birth.
This young damsel died in
the flower of her age,
and her father, who loved
her dearly, believed
he would become crazy. Being an idolater, he
had no resources in his affliction, and his friends,
who came to console him, rendered his grief only
the more poignant. Two neophytes, who came
to see him before the funeral of her whom he
mourned day and night advised him to seek help
from the holy man who was doing such great
things, and demand from him with confidence
the life of his daughter. The pagan - persuaded
by the neophytes that nothing was impossible to
the European bonze, and beginning to hope
against all human appearances, as is usual with
the afflicted, who readily believe whatever
comforts them - goes to Father Francis, falls
at his feet, and, with tears in his eyes,
entreats him to bring to life again his only
daughter whom he has just lost, adding
that it would be to give life to himself.
Xavier, touched by the faith and sorrow
of the pagan, went aside with his companion,
Fernando, to pray to God. Having come
back again after a short time, "Go," he said
to the afflicted father, "your daughter is alive!"
of the pagan, went aside with his companion,
Fernando, to pray to God. Having come
back again after a short time, "Go," he said
to the afflicted father, "your daughter is alive!"
The idolater, who expected that the Saint
would come with him to his house and
invoke the name of the God of the Christians
over his daughter's body, took this speech
as a jest and withdrew, dissatisfied.
But scarcely had he gone a few steps
when he saw one of his servants, who,
all beside himself with joy, shouted from
a distance that his daughter was alive.
Presently, he beheld her approaching.
After the first embraces the daughter
related to her father that, as soon as
she had expired, two horrible demons
pounced upon her, and sought to hurl
her into a fiery abyss; but that two
men, of a venerable and modest
appearance, snatched her from the
hands of these executioners and
restored her life, she being unable
to tell how it happened.
would come with him to his house and
invoke the name of the God of the Christians
over his daughter's body, took this speech
as a jest and withdrew, dissatisfied.
But scarcely had he gone a few steps
when he saw one of his servants, who,
all beside himself with joy, shouted from
a distance that his daughter was alive.
Presently, he beheld her approaching.
After the first embraces the daughter
related to her father that, as soon as
she had expired, two horrible demons
pounced upon her, and sought to hurl
her into a fiery abyss; but that two
men, of a venerable and modest
appearance, snatched her from the
hands of these executioners and
restored her life, she being unable
to tell how it happened.
The Japanese understood who were
these two men of whom his daughter
spoke, and he led her directly to Xavier
to return him such thanks as so great
a favour deserved. She no sooner saw
the Saint with his companion, Fernando,
than she exclaimed: "There are my
two deliverers!" and, at the same time,
the daughter and the father demanded
baptism.
these two men of whom his daughter
spoke, and he led her directly to Xavier
to return him such thanks as so great
a favour deserved. She no sooner saw
the Saint with his companion, Fernando,
than she exclaimed: "There are my
two deliverers!" and, at the same time,
the daughter and the father demanded
baptism.
The servant of God, Bernard Colnago,
a religious of the Company of Jesus,
died at Catana in the odor of sanctity
in they year AD 1611. We read in his
biography that he prepared for the
passage by a life full of good works and
the constant remembrance of death, so
apt to engender a holy life. To keep in
mind this salutary remembrance, he
preserved in his little cell a skull which
he had placed upon a stand to have it
always before his eyes. One day it
struck him that, perhaps, that head had
been the abode of a mind rebellious
to God, and now the object of His wrath
. Accordingly, he begged the Sovereign
Judge to enlighten him, and to cause
the skull to shake if the spirit that had
animated it was burning in hell. No
sooner had he finished his prayer
than it shook with a horrible trembling,
a palpable sign that it was the skull of a
damned soul.
a religious of the Company of Jesus,
died at Catana in the odor of sanctity
in they year AD 1611. We read in his
biography that he prepared for the
passage by a life full of good works and
the constant remembrance of death, so
apt to engender a holy life. To keep in
mind this salutary remembrance, he
preserved in his little cell a skull which
he had placed upon a stand to have it
always before his eyes. One day it
struck him that, perhaps, that head had
been the abode of a mind rebellious
to God, and now the object of His wrath
. Accordingly, he begged the Sovereign
Judge to enlighten him, and to cause
the skull to shake if the spirit that had
animated it was burning in hell. No
sooner had he finished his prayer
than it shook with a horrible trembling,
a palpable sign that it was the skull of a
damned soul.
This saintly religious, favored with singular gifts,
knew the secret of consciences, and, sometimes,
the decrees of God's justice. One day, God revealed
to him the eternal perdition of a young libertine,
who was his parents' heart-scald. The unfortunate
young man, after having rushed into all sorts of
dissipation, was slain by an enemy. His mother,
at the sight of so sad an end, conceived the liveliest
terrors for her son's everlasting salvation, and
besought Father Bernard to tell her in what state
his soul was. Despite her entreaties, Father
Bernard did not answer by a single word,
sufficiently showing by his silence that he had
nothing consoling to say. He was more
explicit to one of her friends. This person
inquiring why he did not give an answer
to an afflicted mother, the religious openly
said to him that he was unwilling to increase
her affliction; that this young libertine was
damned, and that, during his prayer, God
had shown him the youth under a hideous
and frightful aspect.
knew the secret of consciences, and, sometimes,
the decrees of God's justice. One day, God revealed
to him the eternal perdition of a young libertine,
who was his parents' heart-scald. The unfortunate
young man, after having rushed into all sorts of
dissipation, was slain by an enemy. His mother,
at the sight of so sad an end, conceived the liveliest
terrors for her son's everlasting salvation, and
besought Father Bernard to tell her in what state
his soul was. Despite her entreaties, Father
Bernard did not answer by a single word,
sufficiently showing by his silence that he had
nothing consoling to say. He was more
explicit to one of her friends. This person
inquiring why he did not give an answer
to an afflicted mother, the religious openly
said to him that he was unwilling to increase
her affliction; that this young libertine was
damned, and that, during his prayer, God
had shown him the youth under a hideous
and frightful aspect.
On the 1st of August, 1645, there died in the
odor of sanctity, at the College of Evora,
in Portugal, Anthony Pereyra, Coadjutor Brother
of the Company of Jesus. His history is,
perhaps, the strangest furnished by the annals
of this Society. In AD 1599, five years after
his entrance into the novitiate, he was
seized by a mortal malady in the Isle of
St. Michael, one of the Azores; and a
few moments after he had received the
last sacraments, beneath the eyes of the
whole community, who were present at his
agony, he seemed to expire, and became
cold like a corpse. The appearance - almost
imperceptible - of a slight throbbing of the
heart alone, prevented his immediate burial.
Accordingly, he was left three whole days on
his death-bed, and there were already plain signs
of decomposition in the body, when all of a sudden,
on the fourth day, he opened his eyes, breathed
and spoke. He was obliged by obedience to
account to his superior, Father Louis Pinheyro,
all that had passed in him after the last pangs
of his agony; and here is the summary of the
relation which he wrote with his own hand:
odor of sanctity, at the College of Evora,
in Portugal, Anthony Pereyra, Coadjutor Brother
of the Company of Jesus. His history is,
perhaps, the strangest furnished by the annals
of this Society. In AD 1599, five years after
his entrance into the novitiate, he was
seized by a mortal malady in the Isle of
St. Michael, one of the Azores; and a
few moments after he had received the
last sacraments, beneath the eyes of the
whole community, who were present at his
agony, he seemed to expire, and became
cold like a corpse. The appearance - almost
imperceptible - of a slight throbbing of the
heart alone, prevented his immediate burial.
Accordingly, he was left three whole days on
his death-bed, and there were already plain signs
of decomposition in the body, when all of a sudden,
on the fourth day, he opened his eyes, breathed
and spoke. He was obliged by obedience to
account to his superior, Father Louis Pinheyro,
all that had passed in him after the last pangs
of his agony; and here is the summary of the
relation which he wrote with his own hand:
' First, I saw from my death-bed
my Father,St. Ignatius, accompanied
by some of our Fathers in heaven,
who was coming to visit his sick
children, seeking those who seemed
worthy to be presented to our Lord.
When he was near me, I thought
for an instant that he might take
me, and my heart leaped with
joy; but he soon described to
me what I must correct before
obtaining so great a favor.
Then, however, by a mysterious
dispensation of Providence, the
soul of Brother Pereyra was
momentarily released from his
body, and immediately the sight
of the hideous troop of demons,
rushing headlong upon him,
filled him with dread. But,
at the same time, his
angel-guardian and St.
Anthony of Padua, his
countryman and patron,
put his enemies to flight,
and invited him in their
company to take a momentary
glimpse and taste of something
of the joys and pains of eternity.
They then, by turns, led me
to a place of delights, where
they showed me an
incomparable crown of glory,
but one which I had not yet
merited; then, to the brink of
the abysmal pit, where I
beheld souls accursed
falling into the everlasting
fire, as thick as grains of
corn, cast beneath an
ever-turning millstone.
The infernal pit was like
one of these lime kilns,
in which the flame is
smothered for an instant
beneath the heap of materials
thrown into it, only to fire up
again by the fuel with a
more frightful violence.
dispensation of Providence, the
soul of Brother Pereyra was
momentarily released from his
body, and immediately the sight
of the hideous troop of demons,
rushing headlong upon him,
filled him with dread. But,
at the same time, his
angel-guardian and St.
Anthony of Padua, his
countryman and patron,
put his enemies to flight,
and invited him in their
company to take a momentary
glimpse and taste of something
of the joys and pains of eternity.
They then, by turns, led me
to a place of delights, where
they showed me an
incomparable crown of glory,
but one which I had not yet
merited; then, to the brink of
the abysmal pit, where I
beheld souls accursed
falling into the everlasting
fire, as thick as grains of
corn, cast beneath an
ever-turning millstone.
The infernal pit was like
one of these lime kilns,
in which the flame is
smothered for an instant
beneath the heap of materials
thrown into it, only to fire up
again by the fuel with a
more frightful violence.
Led thence to the tribunal of the Sovereign Judge,
Antony Pereyra heard his sentence to the fire
of purgatory, and nothing here below, he
declares, could give an idea of what is suffered
there, or of the state of anguish to which
the soul is reduced by the desire and
postponement of the enjoyment of
God and of His blessed presence.
Antony Pereyra heard his sentence to the fire
of purgatory, and nothing here below, he
declares, could give an idea of what is suffered
there, or of the state of anguish to which
the soul is reduced by the desire and
postponement of the enjoyment of
God and of His blessed presence.
So when, by our Lord's
command, his soul
was united again to
his body, neither the
his body, neither the
new tortures of sickness,
which, for six
which, for six
entire months, combined
with the daily
with the daily
help of iron and fire,
caused his flesh,
caused his flesh,
irremediably attacked by the corruption
of this first death to waste away; nor
the frightful penances to which, so far
as obedience allowed him, he never
ceased to subject himself for the
forty-six years of his new life,
were able to quench his thirst for
sufferings and expiation. He used to say:
the justice and mercy of
God have caused me not
only to see, but to endure.
Finally, as an authentic seal of so many wonders,
Brother Pereyra detailed to his Superior the
hidden designs of Providence on the future
restoration of the Kingdom of Portugal, at
that time still distant nearly half a century.
But it may be fearlessly added that the
most unexceptionable avouchment of all
these prodigies was the surprising
sanctity to which Antony Pereyra never
ceased for a single day to rise.
Brother Pereyra detailed to his Superior the
hidden designs of Providence on the future
restoration of the Kingdom of Portugal, at
that time still distant nearly half a century.
But it may be fearlessly added that the
most unexceptionable avouchment of all
these prodigies was the surprising
sanctity to which Antony Pereyra never
ceased for a single day to rise.
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